Date: 09/26/2005

Number: 1

September 26
While out fishing in the country 25 miles northeast of here, my friend and I spotted at least 100 Monarchs gathering around a 30+ foot tall Blackjack tree on Sunday afternoon 9/25. Monday the 26th I was delighted to see literally hundreds of the fluttering critters flying south. Most of them were flying at a height of about 30 feet, riding the north wind which was blowing about 10-15 mph all day. A mild cool front passed through here last night which dropped the temp to around 65 degrees (I'm guessing on the temp). Every time I stepped outdoors today, I was observing at least one per minute, but often 5-8 per minute! I'm happy to report that a few members of the herd today fluttered into my back yard to maybe say, "Can ya see me now? Well, good!" We're anxious to see what tomorrow may bring in from the north.

September 27
Another outstanding day of the orange and blacks heading south here. Just like yesterday, literally hundreds were observed here. About half of what we saw here were flying low and being sociable; the other half were flying at a height of apx 30 feet and in a hurry. We spotted one that was probably 60 feet up and it was setting a Monarch speed record perhaps...whoosh! The Monarchs must have been late risers this morning as we didn't see any until 9 AM. We had a very light breeze today from the northeast with temps in the mid 80's. This morning was a very comfortable 65 with not a cloud in the sky for the most part. We didn't need clouds, we had the Monarchs!

September 28
Thanks Teresa Jones of Perry OK. (40 miles south of here) for the great report. We experienced similar circumstances here today too. This morning I was able to spot 45 Monarchs between 9:30-11:00 AM. The south wind shifted (around 1 PM) to the north in a matter of 10 minutes, and after that, we saw very few. Winds were gusting to 30 mph with the onset of what appears to be the strongest cool front of this season. The 45 I saw this AM were all flying low as the south wind was breathing on us at about 20 mph...I guess 30 mph winds might make it pretty tricky for them to navigate. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Predicted low tonight 46 degrees.

October 4
Today I spotted 38 Monarchs throughout the day all fluttering slowly, close to the ground. Oct 2nd and 3rd we observed around 10 each day. I'm surprised to see them still making their way southward this late in October. Although in the past I've not been as tuned into the migration as this year, it seems that usually by now we are seeing few to zero. Temps here the past 3 days have been in the upper 80's and humid with generally a southern wind from 5-20 mph. Another cold front is predicted to pass through here tonight/tomorrow.

October 6
With the passing of the latest cold front, we had high temps in the lower 50's with a brisk north wind. Zero Monarchs, or any other insects for that matter, were seen here today. We're feeling lonely here again.

October 7 & 8
More Monarch stragglers were spotted meandering their way south on the 7th and 8th. Although I wasn't outside all that much, I counted 9 on the 7th and 10 on the 8th with a per day observing time of about 1 1/2 hours scattered throughout the day. 100% of the slow-pokes were flying from 3-15 feet high. Their unfocused flight patterns might indicate why they're so far behind the rest of the pack. Daytime temps here are in the 60's with a light easterly to southeasterly wind at 5-10 mph.

October 10
Surprisingly we're still seeing Monarchs passing through here every day. Yesterday, the 9th, we counted 20 in about 2 hours time. Today, the 10th, I counted 30 with brief observing times scattered throughout the day. Every single one we have seen lately have been flying very low to the ground. This afternoon I had 5 of the beauties fly all around where I was sitting in the back yard. One landed on my knee for about a second! I have never observed Monarchs migrating through here this late in October...quite an exceptional year!

October 11
I counted a total of 33 Monarchs today with a total viewing time of about 1 1/2 hours. Half of the beauties were flying low doing circles, often through my small back yard. The other half were flying at a height of apx. 20-25 feet. We've been having beautiful Autumn weather with a high today of 70 under partly cloudly skies. There was very little wind here today...light and variable. During the past week, I've not observed any Monarchs before 9:00 AM. Today I saw the majority of them between noon and 1:00 PM.

October 13
What an amazing year this is for the fall migration of Monarchs! I am fascinated with all the reports from Texas, particularly in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. There are many more headed down your way Texas! The past two days, the numbers here have dwindled to about 8-10 per day...but of course I don't live outdoors, so these are seen only during brief outdoor breaks during the day. The peak that Dallas is observing passed through here 2-3 weeks ago. I have never seen Monarchs still in this area so late in October! Weather here is perfect with low variable winds and highs in the 70's.

October 15
This is more like a NON-sighting report I'm sorry to say. Today was the first day in quite a while that we didn't see at least a few Monarchs passing through here. Maybe the slow-pokes have finally all made it by here.

October 16
Went out fishing this afternoon on a private lake 25 miles NE of here, and we saw only 3 Monarchs passing over the lake. It appears the beauties are almost all south of this location now. Very nice, stable weather here with a high today of 85 degrees with a southerly wind from 5-15 mph. !

October 17 & 18
Yesterday, the 17th, and today, the 18th, we counted a grand total of 2 Monarchs both days meandering their way south with many pit stops to check out strange things, like a mutant Monarch observer sitting on my back porch...ooops, that was me. The 4 were all flying from 4-10 feet above ground and evidentally taking in all the boring sights of north-central Oklahoma. The weather here is still very stable with highs in the 80's and virtually no wind in the past 48 hours.

Ponca City, OK

Latitude: 36.7 Longitude: -97.1

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